To view Farmer John’s latest update, click here.

This week’s share will include:

• Veggies: lettuce, beans, rainbow carrots, cucumber, yellow onions and potatoes, sweet corn, peppers, tomatoes, and choice of herbs (basil, mint, thyme,
  chives). Reminder to use the “extras” bin for anything you don’t want to take
• Add-on shares:
  • Mushrooms: lion’s mane
  • Fruit: John’s email is unclear, I think he means peaches for Tuesday groups but it’s possible fruit is paused until Friday groups
  • Flowers: no mention in John’s email

For those with half shares, this is “B” week. Remember to cross off your name when you pickup!

Serving Suggestions:

• My daughter loves reading the book Tomatoes for Neela, which is about a young girl learning to cook with her family. The back of the book has a cooked tomato sauce recipe that starts with fresh tomatoes that she’s been dying to make. We had used up the tomatoes from our CSA share so we stopped at the Montclair Farmer’s Market to buy some more from Farmer John. The recipe is straight forward and easy to customize:
  • First, you concasse two pounds of tomatoes (cut an X in the bottom, boil for 3 minutes, cool and peel; if you’ve never boiled and peeled fresh tomatoes for sauce, it can feel a bit finicky at first but it’s actually a satisfying step)
  • While they cool, lightly toast sliced garlic in oil over medium-low heat
  • Add the chopped tomatoes and their juice to the pan (carefully) and let it cook for awhile, stirring occasionally, and cooking with or without the lid depending on your desired consistency (we decided to blend ours for a more cohesive sauce)
  • Season simply with salt and pepper, maybe some dried herbs if you have them, maybe a pinch of sugar if the tomatoes are too sharp
• We used ours in a few different ways:
  • Topping fresh farmer’s market ravioli
  • Dipping sauce for crusty bread (surprisingly good served cold)
  • Faux bolognese for a rice ball filling (browned beef with onions/garlic, added a scant amount of tomato sauce and a splash of cream and let it cook down for a few minutes)